Life in a Daydream
by ssweetnothings13
Summary: People change after the war, and it soon becomes clear that things are very different than they once were. Relationships change and the change is not always expected. Contains lemon, slash, fem slash and some language. Earns its rating! Don't like, don't read. Rated M for later chapters. HP/DM HG/SS and other pairings. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

Harry stared down at the cauldron in front of him, trying to force himself to focus on the concoction he was brewing. Finding this difficult, he sighed softly and allowed himself to glance across the room, quickly finding the blond head of Draco Malfoy. Harry tried to control the feeling that was overwhelming him at the thought of those piercing blue eyes, full of passion, and the way his luscious lips would part ever so slightly in between words… Harry licked his own lips at the thought. Beautiful. He allowed his mind to wander, and he found himself wondering what it would feel like to be kissed, really kissed, by Draco Malfoy. Harry shuddered with pleasure at the thought, a smile playing at his lips. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he did not notice the heavy footsteps until they came to a stop behind him. Suddenly, he was aware of the eyes glaring at the back of his head. He turned quickly and found himself face to face with Severus Snape. He took a quick step backward in shock at the sight of the cold black eyes that stared back at him.

"Mr. Potter," Snape hissed, "I would prefer that you focus on the task at hand rather than occupying your mind with worthless daydreams. Ten points from Gryffindor for failing to pay attention in my class."

"Sorry Professor," Harry mumbled, looking down and hoping that his face was not turning red. Snape merely stared in contempt then spun on his heel and walked, with robes billowing, back to the front of the classroom. Harry cursed under his breath; it was so like the slimy bat of the dungeons to interrupt him when he was absorbed in thought, and enjoying it for once, when he was not plagued with memories of the war.

_Harry lay on the ground, silently biding his time as he watched the flashes of light and heard the earth-shattering explosions that surrounded him. 'I should be fighting', he thought. All of those people were dying while he lay, alive, in the mud at Voldemort's feet. He was thought to be dead, and the ensuing battle was the fight for control of the wizarding world. Damn, if only he could kill the snake, he could end the war quickly with a final showdown between himself and Voldemort. He closed his eyes, hoping that it would be over soon. All of a sudden, he heard Ron's voice, "Ginny, catch." The world was turned upside down at that moment as Ginny rushed forward and stabbed Nagini, the sword of Gryffindor glinting in her grip. Voldemort's rage was unsurpassed as he turned his wand on the girl kneeling on the ground, still holding the sword. _

_"You will pay for this," he hissed evilly as he raised his wand, ready to udder the curse._

_In an instant, Harry heard a voice from behind Voldemort utter the incantation almost reverently, "Avada Kedavra." A flash of green light erupted from the wand, and Voldemort fell to the ground, his snakelike eyes open wide with shock. _

_Harry's eyes snapped open, and he turned his head to catch a glimpse of the man who had saved Ginny. The man was bleeding profusely from the neck, supported by Hermione. This was the same man that Harry believed to be dead before he entered the forest that night, the man whose memories Harry had seen not too long ago. Severus Snape. All eyes were on Snape as they silently regarded the man who had worked as a double agent through the entire war; his true loyalties had finally been revealed. Harry took this as an opportunity to make it known that he was alive, as everyone was still silently regarding the man. He slowly sat up, and he heard more than one audible gasp from the crowd. Suddenly, he felt something hard fly into his chest. Before he got the chance to look closely to see who was now sobbing softly on his chest, he recognized the flaming red hair of Ginny Weasley. _

_"Ginny," he mumbled, pulling her closer. When he looked up, he caught a glimpse of Malfoy stalking away, obviously upset about something. By this time, the grounds had been purged of any remaining Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange lay dead, her hair spread wildly from her head, the life in her crazy eyes extinguished from her fight with Molly Weasley. Somehow, the Malfoys had been proven innocent with some evidence left for professor McGonagall by Dumbledore. As it turned out, like Snape, they had been secretly working with the order to bring down Voldemort._

_Harry suddenly had the urge to follow Draco and thank him, he was the one who had pronounced to Voldemort that Harry was dead, knowing full well that he was alive. Harry pushed down this urge thinking that it would look strange if he left the embrace of his girlfriend to follow a Slytherin who, until a few minutes ago, was believed to be a Death Eater. _

The bell dismissing class rang suddenly, jerking Harry once more from his thoughts. He hurried to collect his books, and then the voice of his professor rang out across the room.

"Potter, Granger, and Malfoy please stay behind; the rest of the class is dismissed." Harry silently waited while the other students shuffled out of the room, and he was left with Draco, Hermione, and Snape. "Miss Granger," Snape said slowly, "please wait outside the door while I speak to Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy. I need to speak to you separately." Hermione nodded and quickly left the room, shutting the door.

When the door had been shut, Harry looked quickly at Draco, then focused his eyes on Snape. "Mr. Potter, Mr. Malfoy," Snape began, "It has come to my attention that the both of you seem distracted in my class. I am not sure what is going on, but I am afraid that I cannot pretend not to notice any longer, or it might appear that I was losing my touch. I ask that you pay attention from now on, or I will not hesitate to deduct house points and give you both detentions." Harry looked over at Draco questioningly, to see that he was looking at Harry the same way. They stared; dumbfounded for a moment, then they looked back at Snape.

"Absolutely, Professor," Draco said without skipping a beat, pretending nothing had just happened. Harry could not find the words, so he nodded.

"Good," Snape replied curtly, "now out, both of you, it would be rude to keep Miss Granger waiting forever."

Harry and Draco turned and walked out the door. As they retreated from the room, Severus heard Draco comment softly to Harry, "I'm surprised he gave us a warning. What was that about? It's so unlike Snape to give chances before disciplining, maybe he really has lost his touch."


	2. Chapter 2

**I just realized that I forgot to put a disclaimer on the first chapter, so here it is: I do not own the wonderful world of Harry Potter, nor any of the characters. Anything you recognize belongs to J.K. Rowling. **

**Ok, now that I've taken care of that, here are a few more things I forgot to mention. Italics indicate a flashback. I will try to post a chapter every 1-2 days, depending on how long it takes me to type it. Also, I appreciate that people are actually taking the time to read this. Thanks to those who let me know that this was showing up as a Harry/Hermione pairing, It is supposed to be a Harry/Draco with side pairing of Hermione/Severus. Also, to those who have put this on their favorites or followed, thank you! You have inspired me to put up another chapter. If you are looking for the lemons, they will arrive in the next few chapters, so hang in there. I believe that is all for now, so I give you chapter two!**

Snape looked down at his desk, deep in thought. His reverie was interrupted by the sound of Hermione's footsteps approaching his desk.

The footsteps stopped at his desk and he slowly looked up.

"Professor?" Hermione asked quietly.

"Miss Granger, I wish to speak to you about something that has recently come to my attention, and, if you are willing, I would like to ask for your help in resolving the same issue," Snape replied, his dark eyes staring at her.

"Anything, sir," she replied.

"As you wish Miss Granger," Snape said curtly, looking down. He had not expected her to agree so readily without even hearing what he asked of her, and she had even gone so far as to agree to 'anything' as she had put it. He was not sure how to approach her with this, but it might be better if he just spit it out, after all, there were worse things he could ask. "I have noticed a change in Mr. Potter since the war. He seems distracted and quite conflicted."

"Yes, I had noticed," Hermione started hesitantly, "but I am not sure why and don't know how to help him."

At that, Snape raised an eyebrow, "Really? The know-it-all lacks an answer for once? Well, Miss Granger, I believe I have the answer to that question, strange as it may be. I have been watching Mr. Potter, and have noticed that whenever he is in the same room as Mr. Malfoy, he cannot seem to focus."

"No," Hermione hissed with a shocked look in her eyes, "there is no way, is there? Are you saying that you think Malfoy has cursed Harry?"

At that, Snape smirked, it was obvious that Hermione's prejudice against Malfoy was preventing her from seeing the truth, and then he began attempting to explain what he was thinking. "It is not wise to jump to such conclusions, Miss Granger. Furthermore, I wish to inform you that Harry is not solely affected. Malfoy has the same… problems when around Mr. Potter." At that, Hermione looked confused. She looked at him questioningly, but he shook his head almost imperceptibly before speaking again. "Hermione." She looked up, her mouth dropping open slightly at his use of her given name. He continued, "I will not tell you my suspicions, rather, I will allow you a few days to observe and draw your own conclusions. I promise I am not trying to torture you by holding back information, merely seeing if you come to the same conclusion that I did. When you have figured it out, come see me."

Hermione looked at him, still staring, and then she realized what he was asking. No matter how strange his methods, he wanted her assistance in helping Harry, one of her best friends, and she would do anything to help him. "Okay Professor," she replied.

Snape looked down at the stack of papers on his desk for grading once more as he dismissed her. "That is all Miss Granger."

With that, she turned and walked out of his classroom. He could hear her footsteps, and he fought the urge to look up and watch her leave. As she shut the door behind her, he cursed, "Fuck." He had to admit, she was smart, even if she did let her prejudices get in the way, and could keep up with any intelligent conversation. Her reaction to his suggestion was seriously affected by her unyielding friendship with Potter. When the girl decided to be friends with someone, she stuck by them. God knows the two dimwits she decided to keep company with had hurt her more times than he could accurately count, but she was still fiercely loyal and protective. This had been obvious in her reaction when she thought Draco was doing something to Harry. At that, he smirked slightly; Draco was doing something to Harry all right, but not what she had been thinking. "Damn," he had decided against torturing Harry further because he understood the difficulty of his situation. If he was being honest, the only reason he was interested in assisting Potter was because of Hermione. His brief encounter with her had left him reeling. He could feel the bulge in his trousers, so hard, begging for attention. He did not know how he was going to get through the year; it was already getting difficult to control his erection when he was in the same room as her. 'Severus, get control of yourself,' he thought, 'she's your student, and half your age.' It would be wrong to allow himself to feel this way, even if under normal circumstances she would have already graduated. The previous year at Hogwarts had been a complete disaster, and everyone had needed to repeat their year. Sure, the students had gone to their classes, but most were so preoccupied with the war that they hadn't been paying attention. There had also been many students who hadn't even shown up the previous year because their parents did not want them to go to school with a war going on, and Dumbledore dead. He closed his eyes, deep in thought as that had been his fault. Even though the old man had forced his hand in the matter, he still felt guilty. He had already been tried for Dumbledore's murder and for his activities as a Death Eater. The testimonies from the Order members, as well as all three members of the Golden Trio had proven his innocence, yet he couldn't help but feel responsible. He felt even worse because Dumbledore's plan had worked, yet not without a slight alteration, he had not died. The Granger girl was responsible for that little change. He had been ready to die for Harry to defeat Voldemort, but after the snake bit him, it took entirely too long for him to begin to fade…

_He sat on the floor in the Shrieking Shack at Voldemort's feet. _

_"I have a problem, Severus," he heard._

_"My Lord?" he questioned, focusing on keeping up the shields on his mind and knowing what was coming._

_"Why doesn't it work for me, Severus?"_

_"My- my Lord?" Snape replied, struggling to keep his voice steady, "I do not understand. You- you have performed extraordinary magic with that wand."_

_"No," Voldemort replied, "I have performed my usual…"_

_Snape listened as Voldemort spoke, answering when necessary, and then, "…While you live, Severus, the Elder Wand cannot truly be mine."_

_"My Lord," Snape said, letting a little of his fear seep into his voice._

_"It cannot be any other way." Voldemort said with conviction, "I must master the wand, Severus. Master the wand, and I master Potter at last." Voldemort flicked his wand at the cage holding Nagini, moving it towards Snape. _

_Snape's eyes widened in fear as Voldemort instructed the snake to kill. He winced slightly as the fangs pierced the flesh of his neck, and then slumped to the ground to wait as Voldemort swept out of the room._

_He was vaguely aware that there was someone in the room with him, and turned his head to see Harry standing half concealed by his cloak. He motioned for Harry to come closer, and he did, followed closely by Ron. Raising his wand, he removed a silvery string from his temple. "Take it," he told Harry. He waited as Ron rummaged in his pockets and pulled out a vial. He allowed the string to drop down into the vial before dropping his wand. _

_"Look at me," he said, staring intensely at Harry. He could feel the venom stinging as it seeped through his veins and he knew that he did not have much time left to live. He knew that if he let his heart rate accelerate the venom would spread more quickly, so he relaxed and closed his eyes. Harry must have thought he was dead, because he got up, the small glass vial in hand, and walked out with Ron. He listened as their footsteps faded as they left through the tunnel. After they had left, Severus lay on the floor, bleeding out, and waiting for death to come. He had nothing left to live for anyway, and he was perfectly willing to die for the cause. He was so at peace that he almost did not hear the soft footsteps slowly approaching. When they stopped, the person was standing right next to his body. Suddenly, the person was talking, and they obviously thought he was dead. _

_"Oh Professor," he heard. He knew the voice instantly, and realized that Hermione was standing next to him. He really wanted to hear what she would say, if anything, and forced himself to stay still. "I'm so sorry," the words were rushed, as if she was just pouring out everything that was on her mind, "I wish it hadn't come to this. I- I can't believe you're gone, I mean, I shouldn't care. I know it's crazy. You were the snarky git potions professor who seemed to spend all his free time coming up with ways to torture Harry, but- I don't know- maybe there was something more. Sometimes I thought I saw it, but then it was gone just as fast. Everything's falling apart, Professor, and I don't know what I'm going to do anymore. Where will I go after this is all over? Where do I belong? There was a time when I thought I knew, but then…" she drew a shuddering breath, her sobs becoming apparent, "I never told you, professor, I never told you, never. I should have told you- but I didn't, and now you're gone." At that, the sobs shaking her slight figure overcame her and she sunk to the floor next to him, her robes getting soaked in his blood  
that was pooled on the floor. When she sunk down, she blindly felt around until she found the figure of her professor, and grabbed his robes desperately. She clutched his teaching robes and pulled herself to him, and suddenly he felt her warmth huddled against his chest. He laid still, his breathing faint, and his heartbeat fading, thinking about what she had said. What had she meant? What hadn't she told him? His pulse quickened as he thought, and suddenly she jerked upright, tears still running down her face, but the sobbing had subsided. She had caught a hint of a slight but present heartbeat when she had lain across her professor's chest. "Hospital wing," she muttered. "Professor?" she asked. _

_He moved slightly in response to let her know that he was coherent. She gasped slightly and pulled out her wand in a flourish. With quick yet careful spell work, she removed the venom from his veins through the wound and healed the gash on his neck. She knew she still had to get him to the hospital wing; he had lost a lot of blood. She grabbed him by the torso and pulled him gently to his feet. She ducked under his arm, supporting his weight on her shoulders, and then summoned his wand. He felt a gentle pressure on the palm of his wand hand as she pressed the wand into his grasp. He was surprised that she would willingly give him his wand. She knew the story that had been circulated to the public that he was a Death Eater. She hadn't been told the truth yet, however, she obviously trusted and cared about him enough to care for and be gentle with him. Hermione led him through the tunnel and to the grounds. They started the trek to the castle, battle raging around them, yet no one seemed to notice their presence. He watched as Ron called out to his sister, "Ginny, catch." A moment later, Ginny rushed toward Voldemort and stabbed Nagini. He watched as the Dark Lord momentarily spluttered in shock before regaining his composure. _

_"You will pay for this girl," Voldemort hissed, raising his wand slightly. _

_Severus knew what was about to happen, and before he had time to question his decision, he raised his wand. The words tumbled out of his mouth before he knew what was happening. "Avada Kedavra." A flash of light erupted from his wand, hitting Voldemort in the back. As Voldemort fell to the ground, Severus suddenly felt the impact of the burst of magic that had come from him. He managed to keep himself upright long enough to watch Harry sit up, revealing that he was alive, before collapsing onto Hermione._

_When he came to, he found himself in the hospital wing. He assumed that Hermione had brought him here before leaving to figure out what to do next. He felt a pressure in his hand, and wondered what it could possibly be. He opened his eyes and looked around the hospital wing. There were so many injured from the battle that they had brought more beds in to accommodate them all. He then allowed himself to glance at the figure next to him, expecting to see Poppy. Instead, he was shocked to see the slight form of Hermione. Her eyes were fixed on his face and she clutched almost desperately to his hand._

_"Miss Granger," he acknowledged._

_She looked away from his face quickly and blushed, realizing he'd caught her staring. She smiled slightly before answering, "Professor, I'm so glad you're awake, I thought the worst for awhile."_

_ He looked at her questioningly, his dark eyes searching hers, "Miss Granger, have you been here the entire time?"_

_"Not the entire time sir," she replied, "I left for meals and if anyone required my assistance." At this, she looked down, hoping he wouldn't read into her answer too much. _

_He continued to stare at her and calmly asked, "Where have you been sleeping?" Even though he outwardly remained composed, he was reeling. She had stayed with him? He hated to admit it, but there was something about the petite witch that got to him. _

_Hermione's reply shocked him even more, "here." With that, she stood. "Sir, now that you are awake I must be going, I have to tend to some urgent responsibilities." She turned and walked out of the room, leaving Severus dumbstruck. _

Severus jerked himself out of his thoughts, reminding himself that he had papers to grade. If he could not get the witch out of his thoughts, this was going to be a very long year indeed.


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione walked out of Snape's classroom after their discussion confused and curious. She was anxious to understand what it was that had both Harry and Draco on edge recently. She had noticed that things had been a bit off since the battle…

_After she left the hospital wing, Hermione crossed the grounds and headed towards Hogsmeade. Once she arrived in Hogsmeade, she turned on her heel and apparated to the Burrow. She had told Severus that she had responsibilities, but she really just needed some time with her friends to think things through, as they usually didn't ask too many questions. Yes, she was glad he was awake. Maybe even a little too glad, and that's what concerned her. 'Get it together, Hermione,' she thought, 'you can't have feelings for Snape, he's your teacher, and besides, you don't know anything about him. He has been nothing but cruel to you and you hate him! But, he hasn't always been cruel, he was kind to her before she left, just like she had hoped he would be…' What was she thinking!? She couldn't… no, she hated Snape, she just felt sorry for him, that's all._

_By the time she had walked from the apparition point to the Burrow, she had managed to calm herself down and get her thoughts in order. She opened the door and let herself into the Burrow, not wanting to disturb anyone, and she was not at all prepared for the scene she walked into. Harry sat at the table with his head in his hands; his hair even more messed up than usual. Hermione walked into the room, expecting Harry to look up. When he did not, Hermione walked over to him and stood behind him, placing her hands on his shoulders. She could hear him breathing deeply, the way he did when he was upset and trying to calm down. Hermione had realized this was his newest coping mechanism when they were hunting horcruxes and sharing a tent. All she and Ron had been able to do when he did this was sit with him and wait until he calmed down. Suddenly, she heard Harry's voice, "Go back to bed, Ginny, I'm staying here tonight, there's no way I'll be able to sleep." _

_Hermione leaned closer to him and whispered in his ear, "Nice guess, but you're wrong this time." _

_Harry sat up, his eyes wide, "Hermione." _

_"Hey, Harry," she said softly, "what's going on?"_

_"Oh Hermione," he sighed, "promise not to say anything?"_

_"I promise."_

_"It's Ginny, I'm not really sure what it is, but I feel like we're drifting apart. I don't feel the way I did before the war."_

_Hermione was shocked, "Harry, the wedding is next week, and you have to figure this out soon."_

_"I know, that's why I'm worried. It wouldn't be fair for me to marry her when I'm feeling this way, I feel off, like there's something missing, I just don't know what it is. And I can't hurt Ginny, she deserves someone who loves her, and I'm not sure if I do or not."_

_"Hmm," Hermione thought for a second, "Come here." She led Harry over to the couch and motioned for him to sit down. "I think I know how to help you figure this out." She sat down next to him, her leg against his, her hand resting on his shoulder and looked into his eyes. "Harry, think about the last time you kissed Ginny. Can you remember how you felt?"_

_"Yes," he replied._

_"Okay." She leaned forward slightly, the hand on his shoulder moving to grab his hair, the other moving to rest on his chest. Her lips parted slightly as she leaned forward, and suddenly she was kissing him. He sat there for a minute in frozen confusion before he responded to her touch, pulling her closer and moving his lips with hers. After a minute, she gently pulled away and leaned back to look at him. _

_"Hermione, that was…" he said breathlessly._

_"What did that make you feel?" she asked. _

_"It was a good kiss," he said sheepishly, "but it didn't make me feel anything."_

_"Exactly," she replied, "Now, compare that feeling to the feeling of your last kiss with Ginny. Is it different with her?"_

_Harry closed his eyes for a moment before responding, "Hermione, it's not different with her at all. For whatever reason, I'm not feeling it anymore. How am I supposed to tell her, Hermione? It'll crush her."_

_"Don't worry, Harry. The world has a funny way of working things out."_

Hermione arrived in her Ancient Runes classroom just before the bell and took her seat in the back of the classroom. Usually, she couldn't wait for Ancient Runes, it was her favorite class. But today she had so much on her mind. She was so busy thinking about what was going on with Harry and also about Snape's uncharacteristic behavior that class passed quickly, and she didn't even manage to catch even one word of the lecture. When the bell rang to dismiss class, she quickly copied down the homework and rushed to the Great Hall for dinner.

She waited outside the Hall for Harry and Ron, and when they arrived she walked with them to their table. They sat at a table off to the side, separate from the house tables with the other eighth years. They sat down across the table from Draco, Goyle, and Pansy, and Ron immediately began piling food onto his plate. Hermione slowly put food onto her plate as she watched Harry and Draco. As she ate, she noticed both Harry and Draco glancing quickly at each other. Once, they both looked at the same time, and when Draco realized that Harry had seen, he looked down, blushing furiously. Of course, he was so caught up in his own embarrassment that he did not notice Harry's red face across the table. Hermione did however, and when the last of the puddings disappeared, she jumped up quickly, yelling "library" at her friends as she sprinted out of the Great Hall. Once she was out of the Hall, she ran through the corridors, headed for the dungeons. When she arrived in the dungeons, she slowed her pace and walked to Snape's office, slightly out of breath from running across the castle. She knocked on the door lightly, and almost immediately heard the familiar, "Enter."


	4. Chapter 4

As soon as dinner was over, Severus slipped out of the Great Hall quickly, unnoticed by the other professors, who were still deep in conversation, enjoying their elf made wine. He quickly made his way to his office to finish grading the papers that he had failed to finish earlier. He sighed as he sat down, preparing himself to read whatever rubbish the first years had thought appropriate to write on the properties of a bezoar. He had gotten halfway through the stack in front of him when he heard a gentle knock on the door. He was annoyed that someone was disturbing him while he was trying to focus on his marking, however, he put his quill down, and allowed the person to come in. "Enter," he said bitterly, wanting to deal with whoever was bothering him quickly so he could finish grading the first years' papers. He was a little shocked when Hermione pushed open the door a bit hesitantly and came into the room.

"Hello Professor," she said.

"Miss Granger, I take it your smarts have already overcome your prejudice? Very good, now what do you think is going on with Mr. Potter and Mr. Malfoy?"

"Um, it seems that they've got some personal issues," she said, blushing furiously, "What I mean is, they seem to have feelings for each other, but neither of them knows that the other feels the same way."

"Very good, Miss Granger, I thought the same thing," Severus replied, "Now, what are we going to do about this?" He was impressed that she had figured it out so quickly, and intended to work with her to help the boys get together, no matter how difficult it would be.

"I'm not sure professor," Hermione started to reply, "Wait, we? You're going to help me?"

He was a little amused at her reaction, and pretended not to notice the pleased flush on her cheeks. "Yes Hermione, I intend to help you, if I hadn't I would have left it alone entirely, however, this is affecting their participation in my class, and as a professor I am obligated to do what is necessary to help my students reach their full potential."

"Okay," she said, "Maybe..." she started talking, laying out a detailed plan for how to get Harry and Draco together. Severus was extremely impressed with how thorough she was in her planning, coming up with a solution to any problem they could face along the way.

"Okay Miss Granger, I believe that will work," Severus mused when she was finished speaking. "We can begin tomorrow. Come to my office after breakfast." As the next day was Wednesday, Severus did not have a class immediately after breakfast, and neither did Hermione. This would make it easy for them to meet without anyone noticing, since the rest of the occupants of the castle would be in class.

She nodded quickly, and left him to his grading. She walked quickly through the castle, headed toward her rooms. As head girl, she did not have to worry about being out too late in the castle, so she didn't worry about being quiet or taking the little known corridors.

When she got to her rooms, she flopped down on her bed, musing about what the next morning would bring.

**Sorry its taken so long to update, busy weekend. Also, I know it's short, but it is necessary for the story.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry it's taken so long to get this up, but I wanted it to be perfect. I had the story up to this point pre-written, but I'm writing as I go now, so it might take a little longer to update (hopefully not too much longer). Anyway, here it is. Finally, I give you chapter 5!**

Hermione woke up early the next morning. She put on a new set of robes before heading down to breakfast. Very few people were up as it was so early, so she sat by herself at the eighth years' table. There were only a few students up and one professor seated at the teachers' table. Snape's gaze swept across the few students in the Hall from the head table, his eyes lingered on Hermione as she sat down. She noticed this and nodded slightly in his direction before turning her attention to eating.

While she ate, Draco came into the Hall and she motioned for him to come sit with her. She smiled at the confused look on his face as he sat down and proceeded to speak to him as though they had been friends for years; he was after all, Head Boy. Surprisingly, sharing quarters with Draco hadn't been as bad as she thought it would be. He mostly kept to himself, and spoke to her only when necessary. In essence, it was as if she lived by herself, however, she intended for that to change.

Hermione and Draco finished eating and walked out of the Great Hall together, parting ways only when Hermione turned, saying that she needed to go to the library, and Draco headed off to their quarters to grab his books for his first class.

Hermione waited until he had disappeared around the corner before heading to the dungeons to meet Snape. She practically ran there, and was rather annoyed when her progress was impeded as she ran into something hard and bounced backward, falling gracelessly onto the ground with a hard thump. "Hey," she said indignantly before looking up at whoever she had run into. When she looked up, she found herself face to face with Severus. "Sorry Professor," she mumbled. He looked down at her sternly and then reached down, offering her his hands. She took them and allowed him to help her up.

"And where were you headed to in such a rush Miss Granger?" he asked.

"Umm I was actually headed to meet you," she admitted, looking into his eyes.

"Really?" he asked, "quite eager aren't we? Or has something important already happened?" He asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Well, I spoke with Draco this morning at breakfast."

"I noticed."

"Yes, well…"

"Miss Granger," Severus interjected, "perhaps it would be wise to move this discussion somewhere other than the corridor."

"Oh, right."

He stepped backwards, letting go of her hands, making Hermione realize how close they had been standing. They had been holding hands from where he had helped her up, and she had been practically lying on his chest where she had subconsciously moved closer to him after he helped her up. She couldn't help the way she reacted to him; whenever he was nearby she couldn't help but feel safe. Hermione thought it was odd that she had not noticed or minded the contact, in fact, now that it was gone she felt as if something was missing. She followed him into his office, closing the door behind them. After a moment of silence, she began speaking, "I was thinking last night and realized that what you could do to help the most is make us switch partners in your class. Say it's to promote unity between different houses."

"That actually might work Miss Granger," he said.

"Hermione," she mumbled quietly.

"Huh?"

"You can call me Hermione, sir, when we are not around anyone else, I mean."

"Very well, Hermione."

She loved the way he said her name. His voice sent chills down her back, and when he said her name in that rich baritone, the effect was even more profound. "P-professor?" she asked.

"Severus" was his reply.

"Mm, Severus," she tried it out, watching him to see how he reacted.

His eyes grew wide, and she stepped closer to him. Without thinking, she slowly crossed the room towards him, looking into his obsidian eyes. He reacted, and when she was a step away from him, he closed the gap, pulling her body flush against his. She tilted her face up to look at him, and wrapped her arms around him before standing on her tiptoes to kiss him. She could not control the feeling of desire rushing through her veins as they kissed, the feeling increased when he responded to her touch, pulling her closer and bending down slightly so she didn't have to stand on her toes. After a minute, he pulled away, turning to face away from her quickly, but not fast enough that she missed the look on his face. "Severus, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Get out," he said icily.

"But…"

"Go."

Hermione ran out of his office with tears in her eyes. When she finally stopped running, she was in her room. She flopped down on her bed and sobbed until it was time for class. She headed to transfiguration with her face still red and blotchy from crying. She sank down into a seat in the back of the room, far away from her usual spot in the front. She knew that she had acted suddenly with Severus, but when she was around him it was nearly impossible to act rationally. She had not stopped to think about her actions, and they had not ben premeditated. It just sort of… happened. She looked moodily down at her books until she noticed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"What," she snapped, looking up. When she realized who it was, she immediately felt bad about her rudeness. "I'm sorry," she said quietly, looking up into Draco's icy blue eyes.

"It's okay; I can tell you're upset. Do you want to talk about it?" he replied, taking the seat next to her.

"I-I can't." she stuttered.

He gently took her hand in his and smiled. "Okay, you don't have to say anything unless you want to." Transfiguration went by quickly, Draco never removed his hand from hers and comfortingly rubbed small circles on her back when she started to fall apart again halfway through class. When class finally ended, Draco walked out with Hermione, and led her in the opposite direction of the other students, who were all headed to the Great Hall for lunch. They went instead to their quarters, where Draco summoned a house elf to bring their lunch, explaining that Hermione was not feeling her best. The amount of returning eighth years was so small that they had all of their classes together, aside from the occasional class that someone opted to take for their career. Draco and Hermione had the same schedule, as they had both opted to take the classes most important for graduating, and Draco stayed by Hermione's side the rest of the day.

That was the day that things changed between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. After that, they became closer. It wasn't anything they could have planned out, it was just one of those bond forming experiences, though not the same type of bond created by defeating a twelve-foot mountain troll. They supported each other, and their relationship gradually became stronger. They spent most of their time together, and everyone noticed.

"Hey Draco, hanging out with your girlfriend again?" Pansy Parkinson taunted one afternoon as they crossed the grounds together.

"Shut up, Pansy," Malfoy shouted back, "what do you care who I'm dating or not dating anyways?"

She tossed her hair back in contempt, "I don't."

"Good," was Draco's reply as he pulled Hermione closer. He leaned down, tilting her face up towards his gently. They leaned closer, and suddenly they were kissing. When they finally pulled apart, Pansy was standing openly staring at them. Draco smirked in satisfaction and moved his arm to wrap firmly around Hermione's waist, "If that answers your question Pansy, we have to get to Herbology." With that, they brushed past her and headed to the greenhouses.


	6. Chapter 6

After Herbology, Draco and Hermione crossed the grounds together, heading back towards the castle. They had potions next, and Harry was walking with them. He walked awkwardly behind them, keeping his eyes down and hardly speaking. Harry had withdrawn into himself since Hermione and Draco started dating. Hermione heard laughter on her right, and she turned to see what was going on. Ron was walking to the castle with Lavender Brown and Neville Longbottom. Lavender was spinning around and laughing, trying to get Ron to chase her. Since Hermione had been with Draco, things had been tense with Ron.

_Hermione was walking to potions with Ron and Harry on a Thursday morning after a particularly boring History of Magic class, when Draco came up behind her and spun her around, kissing her in the corridor directly in front of the door to their potions classroom. Ron turned a bit pink at this, and cleared his throat, prompting the couple to jump apart as the classroom door opened. Snape stood at the front of the classroom and waited for them to take their seats while throwing Hermione a questioning look. Hermione looked down at her textbook in response, she wasn't sure how to react in this situation, Snape obviously knew what had happened outside his classroom, but had decided against mentioning it. In fact, he had been avoiding speaking to her for over a week now. Ever since that stupid morning. He had become harder on her too, criticizing her for any little thing he could and taking house points at every opportunity. She just wasn't sure how to decipher his actions; it was as if he was trying to push her away. Well, then again, he probably was. _

_Hermione was startled out of her thoughts when she heard professor Snape addressing the class. "As you all know, I do not accept any foolishness in my class, that being said, I believe it is time for a little bit of a change in here. The war took place months ago, yet there is still a serious lack of unity between houses, therefore, I must insist that everyone switch partners. You must work with someone new, who is not from your own house." There was a bit of grumbling at this statement while everyone threw all of their possessions into their cauldrons and moved around the room to find a new seat. Hermione quickly seated herself next to Draco, as this was the point of this change in the first place, earning a poorly concealed glare from Severus when no one else was looking. She smirked, realizing that she had not exactly let him in on this little bit of information, and that he had probably thought that she would force Harry and Draco to sit together. She turned around to look at Harry, who was sitting behind her with Pansy Parkinson. _

_After potions, she went back to the Gryffindor common room with Harry and Ron. She loved having separate rooms, but missed the time with her two best friends that living in close quarters provided. They approached the portrait of the fat lady, and Harry gave the password, "…" The fat lady swung forward to grant them entrance. Hermione sat in an armchair across from Harry, while Ron paced the room. Finally, he stopped pacing and turned to face her. _

_"Malfoy? Really, Hermione, out of all the guys at Hogwarts you pick Malfoy?" _

_"What do you care, Ron?" Hermione asked, standing to face him and putting her hands on her hips. _

_"I-I thought there was something between US, Hermione. I thought what we had was special." _

_"Ron," Hermione said gently, "There was something between us, but that was before. Things are different now, the war changed us all, Ron, in more ways than we know."_

_Ron took her explanation with his usual amount of grace, sinking into an armchair in the corner of the room and sulking. _

_With Ron pouting in the corner and Harry barely speaking while pining after Draco, whom he thought was a lost cause, it was pointless for Hermione to stay and watch the boys sit in stony silence. She got up and walked out of the common room, heading to her quarters to spend some time with Draco, leaving both of her friends in very bad moods._

Hermione looked away from Ron, realizing that she was actually much happier now that he wasn't constantly right by her side, hoping that things would work between them. For Hermione, that possibility had disappeared in the Shrieking Shack. She and Ron had been together before the final battle, but a lot had changed that night. She had saved Severus and taken him to the hospital wing, leaving Harry and Ron to help on the grounds.

_Hermione left Severus in the hospital wing, knowing that he was in Poppy's capable hands, and headed out to the grounds to find Harry and Ron. Harry and Ginny were standing together by the lake, holding hands. When Ginny realized Hermione was standing off to the side, she ran over to her. "Harry proposed!" she exclaimed, showing Hermione the ring glinting on her left hand. _

_"That's great Ginny! Congratulations!" She offered, pulling them both into a hug. After she had spoken to them for a moment more, she decided to leave so they could be alone. "I'm going to find Ron," she said, backing away from the happy couple. She walked away, genuinely happy for them and hoping that everything would turn out great for them, they had both been through so much, they deserved some happiness. _

_Hermione trudged across the grounds to find Ron, weaving through the crowd of people helping get those injured in the battle into the hospital to be taken care of. _

_When she finally spotted Ron, he was headed toward the greenhouses. She followed him silently as he slipped between two greenhouses and then turned to the right, taking a few steps before settling himself on the ground where he wouldn't be bothered. Hermione hesitated for a moment, unsure if she should go talk to him or if she should just leave him alone to work out whatever was on his mind. She made up her mind and began to walk towards him, when suddenly she heard a shrill cry, "Won Won!" Lavender cried as she threw herself into Ron's arms. Hermione froze as she watched Lavender and Ron. _

_"Hey," Ron looked up at Lavender with a smile on his face, "I've missed you."_

_Lavender looked at him, "I don't even understand why you had to go in the first place, couldn't Harry have handled whatever he needed to do by himself?" she pouted. "And I don't like it that you spent all that time sharing a tent with Hermione."_

_Ron pulled her closer before replying, "You know that I don't think of 'Mione that way, she's just a friend, and that's all she'll ever be." _

_Lavender thought for a moment before deciding that what he said was the truth. She moved so that she was on top of him and kissed him. Ron held her close as they kissed; only pulling away when they heard a crash from the other side of the greenhouse. _

_Ron told Lavender to wait there while he checked it out, but by the time he got up, Hermione was gone. _

_Hermione ran quickly away from the greenhouses, not able to witness the scene in front of her any longer. She stopped only when she had made it back to the castle. She wandered around the castle aimlessly, and soon found herself in the hospital wing at Severus' side. He was still unconscious, so she sat next to him on the bed and buried her face into his chest, finally allowing herself to cry in response to what had happened._

Hermione was pulled out of her thoughts when Draco removed his arm from hers and stood beside her waiting for her to sit down. She realized that they were in the potions classroom and took her seat next to Draco silently and waited for class to begin.


	7. Chapter 7

**Okay, here it is, (finally) the next chapter. I'm really sorry I haven't updated in so long but I've been really busy. Also, I'm sorry it's so short, but I had to get something up for you guys. I hope you like this!**

Harry followed silently behind his best friend and her boyfriend as they made their way to potions. From the way Hermione was chewing on her bottom lip, it was clear that she was deep in thought. When they got to the dungeons, Harry sat down next to Pansy and watched moodily as Draco removed his arm gently from Hermione's and waited for her to sit before taking his seat next to her. He looked down thinking for the millionth time that week that he was stupid to hope that Draco could ever feel anything for him.

Harry focused on his potion and ignored the fact that Hermione and Draco were flirting not-so-subtly as they worked on their potions. He sighed dejectedly and decided to look instead at Ron, who was scowling at his potion. Next to Ron, Blaise Zabini was stirring his potion as he looked around the room, eyes lingering on Harry for a second before focusing on his potion once more.

'That was strange,' Harry thought to himself, but then decided it didn't mean anything and forgot about it.

As class ended, Harry made his way to the front of the classroom with his vial to turn in to Snape. He placed his completed potion into the bin labeled Gryffindor and turned to collect his things. He whirled around and suddenly collided with something very hard.

"Watch where you're going Potter," Malfoy spat, his eyes flashing dangerously.

With Malfoy acting so much like he had before the war, Harry found it easy to coldly glare back at him as he continued walking. He collected his things and as he was leaving he heard Snape call out, "Miss Granger, stay. Everyone else, get to your next class before I give you detention."

Harry wondered briefly what Snape could possibly want with Hermione, but decided it was probably about some assignment she was doing for extra credit.

**So, what did you think? I would love to hear anything you have to say about the story so far. Also, if there are any pairings you would like to see, let me know and I will try to include as many as possible. Thanks!**


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